


Young Love

by volleyowlets



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: An OC though, Angst, Background Relationships, Fluff, Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-11
Updated: 2018-02-11
Packaged: 2019-03-16 18:48:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13642320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/volleyowlets/pseuds/volleyowlets
Summary: “Hello Kuroo-san. It’s been a long time.”“Mum? Is everything okay?”“Tetsurou, honey, I’m fine. Please go back to bed. You have school in the morning.”Alternatively: I was writing one of my other fics and got really emotional about KuroShou so this happened





	Young Love

It was cold, so very cold that night. Daishou hunched in on himself as he darted through the streets, knowing that if he stopped moving he’d have no hope of surviving the night. The clothes on his body were not cut out for winters but it was all he’d had time to grab all those days ago. 

He wished he could return to the house he’d once called home, but his father had been crystal clear that he was never to return.

It was nearly 2am when he realised where his feet had taken him. It was a neighbourhood from his childhood, before his mother had passed away and left him with only his father. He didn’t want to complain, his father paid for him to go to a good school, he allowed him to go out with friends and play volleyball, he just didn’t love his son. Daishou wasn’t sure that his father had ever so much as felt a glimmer of emotion akin to love toward him. He was the accident that had caused his parents relationship to crumble. 

Daishou shivered as a gust of wind blew down the street. He could see the house in view, all the lights off except one, still on the ground floor thankfully. He hurried for the house, the one he’d spent a lot of time at throughout his childhood with his mother. 

Knocking on the door, Daishou waited. He hoped that in some corner of their heart, whoever was still awake would let him in, just for the night. It wasn’t long until he heard the sleepy grumbling of someone who hasn’t been able to sleep, and then the door swung open. 

Standing in the doorway was the woman who had been like a second mother to him when he was younger and still friends with her son. Her eyes widened as she took in the sight of him and Daishou felt more self conscious than ever. 

“Suguru? That is you, isn’t it?” The woman asked, concern filling her voice. 

“Hello Kuroo-san. It’s been a long time.” 

The older woman took a step backward, holding the door open wider and ushering him inside. She had closed the door and made sure it was locked before he was swept into her arms. For a small lady, her grip was just as strong as he had remembered. He hadn’t been hugged like that in a long time. 

He felt like a child again wrapped up in her arms. All of his emotions were bubbling to the surface, emotions he hadn’t been able to show since his mother had passed away. Daishou clenched his fists in the back of Kuroo-san’s shirt, he couldn’t show weakness. His father hated that more than anything else in the world, except for maybe Daishou himself. Even so, he felt a sob working its way out of his chest as the woman he clung to made soothing sounds in his ears. 

“It’s okay Suguru. You can cry if you need to,” she said, speaking softly. 

That was all it took for his walls to come crashing down. The ones he’d spent his entire high school life building up, so that he wouldn’t be hurt again. The ones he’d concealed his emotions behind so that his father couldn’t hurt him any more than he already had. 

A dry sob made its way out of him, and then the tears came. They wouldn’t stop. All his years of hiding, they were making their way out. He wasn’t sure how long he stood in the entryway, clinging to the older woman as his emotions took over. He knew it was a long time, he felt guilty that she’d stayed with him throughout his breakdown. 

He had missed her with every fibre of his being. He had missed being told he was allowed to have emotions. His mother had always told him to let himself feel. 

But she isn’t here anymore, a voice whispered in his head. 

Daishou felt another wave of emotion settle over him, a fresh bout of tears beginning to stream down his face. 

“Mum? Is everything okay?” 

Daishou froze, sobs still shaking his body. He knew that voice, and realistically he knew that it shouldn’t have been unexpected for him to appear at the top of the stairs. 

“Tetsurou, honey, I’m fine. Please go back to bed. You have school in the morning.” 

Daishou whimpered, and silently thanked whatever deities had taken pity on his state. He squeezed the woman tighter, hoping she’d understand how thankful he was. 

“Who is that?” 

“Tetsurou,” he heard Kuroo-san say. “Go. To. Bed.” 

He knew the kind of face the other boy would be pulling. The one where he felt helpless, but didn’t like what he could see. He knew that his old friend would hate hat he was in the house, he didn’t have any other choice though. 

At least, he didn’t have one that he was willing to choose. 

He heard a sigh as soft footsteps moved away and a door closed upstairs. Relief filled his body, dry sobs the only thing left in him. 

“Hey, Suguru, darling. Come to the kitchen, I’ll make you a cup of tea.” 

Daishou hadn’t felt like someone cared this much in a long time. He worried about getting his hopes up too much, but as he followed his host into the kitchen, he felt like maybe he could hope, just this once.

* * *

 

“Who’s this?” 

“I don’t know, I’ve never seen him before.” 

He felt someone poking his leg. Why could he feel someone poking his leg?

“I’m going to get Mummy,” the first voice said. 

Small feet padded away from him in a rush, and soon after he heard the yells of a child waking their parents at an ungodly hour of the morning. Blearily, Daishou opened his eyes, the light of the morning sun glaring in his face. Then, the face of a young boy filled his vision. 

“Who are you?” 

Daishou took a moment collect his thoughts. This child in front of him looked like Kuroo back when they were seven years old, looking for treasure in the backyard. Daishou vaguely remembered two young kids the last time he had been in the house. They’d only been three years old at the time though, so he supposed they wouldn’t remember him. 

“Mori-chan?” His voice came out hoarse, but he knew the young boy had heard him. 

“How do you know my name?” The boy asked, confusion filling his face. 

Daishou sighed. He wasn’t in the mood for talking. He wanted to keep sleeping. After he’d had tea, he’d been allowed to have a shower and now wearing Kuroo’s clothes, he had been put to rest in the couch. It was the warmest he’d been in a long time. 

“I know your brother,” he said, closing his eyes again. 

He realised his mistake as soon as the young boys feet took off, running for the stairs and yelling for his older brother to get up. 

It wasn’t long until he heard both children leading the rest of their family downstairs to the lounge area. He felt the frustration rolling off Kuroo before anyone spoke. He hadn’t felt so small in all his life. 

“Please let me sleep,” Daishou found himself mumbling. 

He cracked his eyes open, hoping they’d see how tired he was. He wouldn’t beg, he’d leave if they asked, but he wanted to sleep safely for one night. 

“Mum, what is he doing here?” 

“Tetsurou, drop it.” There was a warning tone in her voice as she spoke. “This is Daishou-san. I think it might be for the best if we all go back upstairs and play for a bit, okay?” 

He heard the family retreat back upstairs as he closed his eyes again. He thought everyone had gone upstairs at least. Until he heard movement in the kitchen at least. 

He didn’t stay awake long enough to find out who it was though, as he drifted back off to sleep.

* * *

 

It was nearly lunch by the time he woke up again. The house was quiet, the soft melody of a piano the only thing he could hear. Sitting up on the couch, Daishou ribbed the sleep from his eyes before setting off to find anyone in the house. 

It didn’t take long for him to find the woman who’d taken him in the previous night. She was upstairs, tidying the room that her youngest children obviously shared. 

“How are you feeling today?” She asked, concern in her eyes as she gave him a once over. “You look like you haven’t eaten in weeks. What happened to you?” 

Daishou gave her a weak smile. 

“I feel a lot better now. Could I have something to eat?” He asked, avoiding the question.

“Of course! Here, come with me. We can talk over lunch.”

He followed her down into the kitchen, helping her with the preparation of their meal before they sat down together. The silence that settled over them was welcome. Daishou didn’t know how to begin. 

“Suguru,” his host said, looking him in the eye. “First, please call me Mayumi. I’ve known you since before you could talk. Second, would you like to tell me what has happened? It’s not like you to show up in the middle of the night, and definitely not wearing clothes like you had been. It was freezing yesterday!” 

Daishou took a deep breath. She deserved an explanation, much more than he wanted to give her. He would have to talk eventually though, he knew he would. 

“I don’t know what to say,” he said, looking Mayumi in the eye. 

She gave him a sad smile. 

“How about we start with why you were out in the cold last night. You were so cold Suguru, please.” 

He nodded. He couldn’t lie to her when she looked as sad as she did at that moment. Sad and scared. All because of him. 

“I couldn’t go back,” he started, ignoring the distressed look he was sent. “He kicked me out nearly a week ago. I didn’t know where I was going last night until I was here. I’m just glad it was you who was awake. If it had been Kuroo,” he said, choking on air as his heart felt like it would beat out of his chest. “If it had been Kuroo, I’m not sure he would’ve let me in.” 

He closed his eyes, willing his breathing to return to normal. He was okay, Mayumi wouldn’t throw him out. He hoped she wouldn’t at least. He hoped she wouldn’t let her husband or her eldest son throw him out either. 

“Suguru, he wouldn’t have done that. You know it. I don’t know what happened with your father, but you’re welcome to stay here until we can figure something else out. You can stay in Tetsurou’s room, I’m sure you’ll be able to work out a compromise.” 

It was a bad idea. He knew it was, but Mayumi had a look of such hope on her face. 

“We can try.”

* * *

 

“Mum, no.”

To credit Kuroo, his reaction was much less aggressive than Daishou expected. It was definitely a surprise. 

“Tetsurou, I’m not giving you a choice. I’m not putting Suguru back on the streets to freeze to death because you can’t give up a silly rivalry. And before you say it, no he’s not sleeping on the couch in the living room. The twins would harass him at dawn.”

Daishou watched as the mother and son stared at each other, both clearly unimpressed with the other. It made him feel guilty. Kuroo really didn’t like him, it wasn’t fair to make him share his space. 

“It’s fine, I’ll work something out Mayumi-san. Please, don’t worry about me,” he said, breaking the silence that had settled over the room. 

“Don’t you dare Suguru. Your mother was practically my sister. She would have killed me if I knowingly let you live on the streets.” 

Kuroo sighed, letting his gaze drop.

“It’s fine. You can stay in my room. Mum will never give up,” Kuroo said. “Just don’t touch anything.” 

Daishou agreed, and that was how he got himself a roommate.

* * *

 

It was late that evening when he realised he wouldn’t get a wink of sleep. Kuroo was up still, doing homework that he could have done earlier if he hadn’t watched the entirety of the the world championships grand final. Typical volleyball-loving idiot. 

He was broken out of his thoughts by a frustrated growl and the sound of a pen being thrown down. Whatever Kuroo was doing, it obviously wasn’t his cup of tea. 

“Oi Kuroo, shut up. I want to sleep.” 

It was silent for a moment as Kuroo took a deep breath. 

“No. You can’t come into my house and tell me what to do. I will be done, when I’m done,” Kuroo growled. 

Daishou sat up from his place on the floor. Surely Kuroo wasn’t struggling that much with whatever he was working on. The sigh that Kuroo let out begged to differ though.

Rising from where he sat, Daishou stumbled over to where Kuroo was doing his homework. The sooner Kuroo was finished, the sooner he’d be able to go to bed. 

Looking over Kuroo’s shoulder, he realised what the problem was. English. Translations from English to Japanese at that. It always had been Kuroo’s weak point. 

“You know, I can,” Daishou paused, considering whether or not he really wanted to do this. He wanted sleep. “I can help with English.” 

The look Kuroo gave him could’ve killed. It was obvious that Kuroo didn’t want his help. 

“Fine, I’ll be sleeping. I’ll see you in the morning.” 

If his heart was hurting, it definitely wasn’t because Kuroo hated him. Not at all.

* * *

 

The next few days passed in a blur. He spent his time helping clean the house, accompanying Mayumi with their grocery shopping and playing with the twins. Kotori and Mori were quick to warm up to him. They enjoyed playing outside, throwing a ball or playing soccer together. Mori loved looking for bugs and Kotori took great pride in her attempts to paint her brothers nails. 

That’s what Kuroo came home to that evening. Kotori was painting Daishou’s toenails a bright pink colour in the backyard. He had to give it to the young girl, she was doing a really good job of painting his nails. 

“I’m home,” came the call from the house. 

The young girl finished painting his nails, telling him to sit still until his nails dry before she ran back into the house. He could hear her calling her brother, and then yelling at him to pick her up. He’d seen enough of the siblings that he knew Kuroo would give in, he loved his brother and sister. 

“See? Look!” 

Daishou smiled as Kuroo seemed to bend down to inspect his toe nails. Trust Kuroo to be nice for his sisters sake. 

“They look great. You’re doing so well,” Kuroo told his sister, tickling her sides as he held her. 

They still hadn’t spoken more than 3 words at a time, even staying in the same room. Daishou enjoyed watching Kuroo interact with the twins though. It was like seeing a whole different side of his old friend. That was wrong though. It was like seeing his friend supporting him at eight years of age, when his mother had told him that she was dying. 

“Put me down. I need to see if they’re dry.” 

The girl wriggled out of her brothers grip, sliding down to tap on Daishou’s toenails lightly. He didn’t move until she’d deemed them dry enough for him to get up, and when he did, he mumbled his thanks. 

He was back inside, running up the stairs in no time. Thinking about his mother always hurt, he didn’t want to deal with Kuroo looking down on him at the same time. 

He was sitting on his makeshift bed on the floor, knees pulled up to his chest when the door opened and Kuroo poked his head around the corner. Kuroo let out a sigh as he entered and closed the door behind him. 

“Oi what’s up with you?” 

Daishou ignored Kuroo’s attempt to engage in conversation. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to talk without sounding like he was going to cry again. The family had been treating him far too well. 

Kuroo sighed. 

“Kotori was excited that you let her do your nails. She doesn’t get to do it very often,” Kuroo said. “Thank you.” 

Daishou shrugged it off. He liked seeing the girl happy. He liked seeing kids have the lives that they deserved. He didn’t want them to grow up faster. He didn’t want them to be him. 

“Daishou, you can’t just keep ignoring me. You can’t talk to everyone else in my family but then not talk to me.” 

Daishou looked up into the brown eyes of his childhood best friend, feeling anger start to bubble beneath his skin. Kuroo always acted like he was a saint, but he wasn’t. 

“You left me Kuroo. We were ten years old and you stopped talking to me,” he said. 

“I did not. You moved to the other side of Tokyo and you forgot about me. Then you show up to a volleyball match and start taunting me. What did you expect?” 

“I expected my best friend to be my best friend.”

Daishou felt the tears in his eyes as he stared at Kuroo bitterly. That was all he’d wanted since the day his mother had passed away. For anyone to treat him like his mother did, or even how Kuroo had all those years ago. Like a friend. 

“You could have said something. My mum had just passed away Kuroo and I was sent to live with my dad who never so much as liked me. He always blamed me for mum leaving him, Kuroo. Since we were kids. I wasn’t nice because I was mourning and I didn’t have any support from anyone because they all chose you,” Daishou said. 

He wasn’t sure where the words were coming from, but he knew they wouldn’t stop until he’d said them all. He just kept talking, watching as Kuroo’s expressions changed. 

“You were the one everyone liked. I was just the extra, the get one free. I went years sitting by myself at lunch, hoping that someone would sit with me one day and I wouldn’t be alone anymore. Even now, not one person realised I was living on the streets until I showed up at your house. Do you know what that’s like? To have no one care?” 

Daishou knew that there were tears rolling down his face. He wouldn’t give Kuroo the satisfaction of leaving now or hiding his tears though. Even now, he thought maybe he did know why his feet brought him back to this house that cold night. 

“This house is the only place I have good memories of Kuroo. Just leave me alone.” 

He listened as Kuroo got up and sat down on the side of his bed, not leaving the room. He knew Kuroo was thinking, processing everything that Daishou had just said to him. Deciding how he could approach the subject the best. 

“You know, no one ever hated you. We hated the fact that you treated us like we couldn’t help you. You pushed us away Daishou,” Kuroo said softly. 

Daishou felt his body shaking, even as Kuroo slid off his bed to sit beside him on the floor. An arm snaked around his shoulders, pulling him closer to Kuroo and enabling him to rest his head on a strong shoulder. 

“Sorry we never tried to help, or find out what happened.” 

Daishou let a sad laugh out of him. 

“It’s not like I made it easy.”

* * *

 

Over the next two weeks, Daishou found himself spending more time with Kuroo. He even made the extra effort to accompany Kuroo when he went out with Kenma to buy a new game that was coming out. That had been a good day. 

This particular afternoon, Daishou was playing dolls house with Kotori when Kuroo returned home. He wasn’t alone this time though. He had brought half his team with him. 

“What’s he doing here?” The short one with the light brown hair asked.

Daishou recalled him being the third year libero of the volleyball team, and wondered if Kuroo was preparing to skin him alive. 

“Is he playing dolls?” 

“Dai-chan! Stop getting distracted!” 

Kotori’s voice brought him back, bringing a smile to his face as she continued to talk in the voice of her doll. He’d keep doing this if she was going to smile like that when he did. He didn’t care that the team was making fun of him. 

“Okay, come on. Let’s go. We’ve got a game to analyse,” Kuroo’s voice called out over the rest of his team’s voices. 

Daishou glanced back as the team started moving along. Kuroo gave him a small smile, a proper smile, not one of those smirks he was always giving opponents. His heart fluttered at the sight, and he gave a smile of his own. 

He turned back to playing doll’s with Kotori as Kuroo left to follow his team. He laughed with the young girl as she sentenced his doll to death for not listening to her doll. 

By the time dinner rolled around, he was pretty sure he’d been sentenced to death five times and that Kotori had spent too much time with her brother playing spies. 

“So how was school Tetsurou?” Mayumi asked after the volleyball team left. 

“It was good. The team is playing well and as long as they keep working hard I think they’ll be hard to beat next year.” 

Daishou cocked an eyebrow at him. 

“Nohebi will beat them.” 

Kuroo made a loud gasp, placing his hand on his chest dramatically. Daishou fought to hide his smile. 

“Dost my ears deceive me? Did you really say your team of cheaters would win?” Kuroo was grinning as he spoke. 

“We never cheated Kuroo, bent the rules a bit maybe,” he said. “Besides, it’s not like it matters to me. My team is strong anyway.” 

Kuroo grinned, opening his mouth to retort but getting cut off before he could get another word out. 

“Boys, please. It’s like neither of you ever grew up,” Mayumi laughed, redirecting her attention to her husband. “How about you? How was work today?” 

Daishou silenced himself as the eldest member of the Kuroo family fixed a glare toward him. He didn’t know what he’d done to the man, but he was the only member of the family who still hadn’t warmed up to him. 

“It was fine. What did you get up to today?” 

The tense strain of the elder males voice begged Daishou to step a single toe out of line as he was stared down. He wondered if Kuroo was aware of it, or if he was just going to be yelled at by the other for bringing it up. 

“Oh, Suguru and I went shopping for some groceries and cleaned the house. Tomorrow we’re going down to his school to see if there’s any way for him to catch up and still graduate. Isn’t that right Suguru?” 

He nodded, drawing his eyes to the side, watching the two youngest members of the family babble about who was going to be the bad guy in their next fantasy game. 

It had been something that he’d discussed with Mayumi, going back to school. He hadn’t missed too much, he had been ahead in his classes and had never strayed far from top of his year. It did worry him that he’d missed too much to graduate though. 

“That’s good. Maybe you’ll still be able to get into university yet,” Kuroo said, a smirk letting Daishou know he was just trying to lighten the heavy mood that had settled over the table. 

“Please, I’d be more worried about you getting into university,” he returned, feeling Kuroo’s foot bump against his under the table. 

He relaxed a bit, knowing his oldest friend still knew when he was getting overwhelmed. The pressure in the dining area was becoming too much and Mayumi broke it with a cough following the high schoolers words. 

“At any rate, we’ll head down in the morning, shortly after classes start. Hopefully we can get supplementary classes or something similar worked out quickly.” 

Daishou didn’t say another word for the rest of the meal. 

He didn’t say another word until he was safely upstairs in Kuroo’s bedroom again, Kuroo booting up his laptop so he could watch an old volleyball match. 

“You know, I don’t think your dad likes me,” Daishou said, speaking quietly as he read over Kuroo’s homework, hoping that he’d be able to absorb some of the information before he went back to school the next morning. 

Kuroo made a sound that was almost a snort, but not quite. 

“What gave you that idea?” 

“I don’t know, maybe just how he always stares me down like I don’t have a good bone in my body. Or that thing he does, you know, when he speaks? He sounds like he wants me dead sometimes,” Daishou said. 

He put the paper he’d been reading down. Kuroo’s homework didn’t seem too hard, just painfully boring. 

“Mm, yeah he’s a bit like that. Just don’t upset him and you’ll be fine. Mum loves you still anyway, that’s more important,” Kuroo said. “Did you want to watch with me?” 

Daishou looked at Kuroo, resting comfortably against the head of his bed. He was tired. Dinner had exhausted him and he didn’t want to be falling asleep at school before he’d even been allowed supplementary classes. He knew he wouldn’t sleep with the light from the laptop anyway though. 

“Yeah. It’s not like I’d be able to sleep anyway,” he said. 

Settled comfortably next to Kuroo and watching the game, he told himself that his heart was racing because of how close the match they were watching was. It was definitely that, no questions about it.

* * *

 

“Of course we can supply lessons to catch you up. I’m disappointed that you didn’t come to us that there was issues at home sooner, but we can still have you graduate and send you off to university,” the old woman in front of him grinned. 

Daishou felt Mayumi’s hand on his shoulder as the Principal spoke. He was relieved. He could go back to school and graduate and continue living his life as normally as he could after being forced out of his home. 

“Unfortunately we don’t have any school uniforms for Suguru, is there somewhere we could get one from?” Mayumi spoke, her voice soft. 

“If you will follow me, we can go get a new uniform and send our young student back to class immediately. If only for the second half of the day, it is best to get you back into classes as soon as possible,” the principal said cheerily, leading the way out of her office. 

It was an hour later that he was being walked to his old classroom. 

He groaned internally at the stares he received from his classmates as the old woman spoke to his teacher. He caught his friends eye from where he sat at the back of the room. 

Hiroo looked as confused as Daishou felt he was going to be by the end of the day. He was definitely going to be interrogated at lunch.

“Daishou-kun, if you would please take your seat,” his teacher gestured before turning back to the board and continuing her mathematics class.

He wasn’t anywhere near as confused as he thought he’d be by the class. He’d watched Kuroo cover this content last week, the working out was a bit more complex than he recalled but he could ask after he’d been assigned his homework if he needed to. 

He finished the class, proud of himself for not getting lost immediately. It was lunch though, and he could already see Hiroo moving over toward him. 

“Well, look what the cat dragged in,” Hiroo spoke, sitting in the seat in front of Daishou. “Where have you been? You never replied to any of our texts, we even went to your house but your dad just yelled at us to leave.” 

Daishou took a deep breath. He hadn’t responded because he didn’t have a phone anymore. It was one of the things he’d left in his old bedroom in his rush to leave. 

“I don’t live there anymore,” he said simply. “I live on the other side of the city, with an old friend.” 

If he omitted enough of the details, maybe he could get out of this without telling Hiroo that he’d been kicked out and had lived on the streets for a week before getting taken in my Kuroo’s family. His team knew how much he disliked the other captain, they didn’t know that they had been best friends until just before high school. 

“Right, right. Is that all I’m going to get from you? Who is this friend? As far as I was aware you didn’t talk to anyone that wasn’t on the team, or wasn’t your ex-girlfriend. Who could you possibly consider a friend from the other side of the city?” 

Hiroo looked like he wanted to strangle Daishou at that moment. Probably because it seemed like Daishou was keeping secrets, though he supposed he was. 

He sighed, knowing Hiroo wouldn’t give up. 

“I’m staying with Kuroo, but if you breathe a word of this to anyone I will have you hung up by your toes from the top of the school.” 

Hiroo raised an eyebrow at that, but didn’t offer any other words as he moved to sit back and eat his lunch. The silence between them remained comfortable until class was due to start again. 

He realised that he might need a bit of help catching up on chemistry work in that class.

* * *

 

“Ugh, I could’ve dropped out, Kuroo. Why didn’t I just drop out?” Daishou said, his form hunched over Kuroo’s desk as he stared down at his homework. 

The list was long, and while his teachers had tried to explain as much as they could, he knew that they needed him to complete all the homework as soon as he could. If he didn’t he’d just fall further behind. 

He felt Kuroo moved to his side, a hearty chuckle escaping his companions mouth. 

“It’s not like you want a decent job or anything, right? What are you catching up on?” Kuroo asked, the grin not leaving his lips as Daishou pushed his homework across. “Chemistry? Would you like me to help you?” 

Daishou wanted to say no, really, he did, but the mountain of work he needed to complete wouldn’t get done if he didn’t know exactly what he was doing. He knew that his best option was going to be staying up until at least one subject of catch up was completed. 

“Please.” 

Kuroo pressed up against his side as he began to explain the work. It was a lot of confusing words if you asked Daishou, but Kuroo had no trouble explaining everything and then giving him a bit of extra information that would make the work easier. 

Three hours later, and his mountain of catch up work complete, Daishou leaned back in the chair, rubbing his eyes. He glanced back at Kuroo, who was still sitting up on his bed, waiting until Daishou finished his work to go to bed. 

“You didn’t have to stay up,” Daishou said, standing from the chair and moving to sit down on his bed. 

Kuroo watched him with a smile. 

“Nah, but I couldn’t just leave you to suffer through homework on your own. I don’t complain like you do.” 

Daishou rolled his eyes, moving to turn the lights off. 

“Goodnight Kuroo.”

“Goodnight Daishou.”

* * *

 

_ “Suguru, come here. I need to talk to you about something,” his mother called to him.  _

_ Daishou paused from where he’d been chasing his dog around the yard. He grinned up at his mother as she walked toward him.  _

_ “Didja see mum? We were playing fetch but then Toto wouldn’t bring the stick back! Doesn’t he know I can’t throw for him if he won’t give it back?”  _

_ Daishou Hana laughed with him, patting his back as she knelt to look him in the eye.  _

_ “I’m sure Toto thinks it’s a different game and you just have to chase him enough to get your stick back,” she said.  _

_ He thought for a moment before saying a quick, “you’re probably right!”  _

_ His mother was leading him back inside, calling out to their little dog as they went. It was getting dark after all.  _

_ “Suguru, I need you to go pack a bag honey. I need to stay in the hospital for a while so you need to go stay with your father. Is that okay?”  _

_ Daishou frowned. He hated his father, he was mean and he always smelled bad when Daishou was there. He really didn’t want to go.  _

_ “Can’t I stay with Kuroo? He’s much more fun,” he complained.  _

_ “I’m sorry sweetie. You can’t stay with them while I’m away, you need to be a strong boy okay? For me?”  _

_ She looked so sad, and he had put that frown on her face.  _

_ “Okay! For you!” _

* * *

 

“Daishou, wake up.” 

A hand shook his shoulder, interrupting his dream. His dad had been there, bottles of alcohol scattered around the living room, yelling about being saddled with Daishou until he was old enough to look after himself. 

The phone call had come through earlier in the day, telling them that she had passed away peacefully in her sleep. 

“Daishou,” the hand shook him again and he opened his eyes. 

Dark eyes, and terrible bedhead greeted him with concern. The hand on his shoulder didn’t move as he woke up, coming to and realising his cheeks were damp. 

He brought a hand up, wiping at his face as though it would hide the evidence and stop making Kuroo look as worried as he did. He didn’t want pity, he wanted to sleep without nightmares brought on by stress. 

“Daishou, are you okay?” Kuroo spoke, quietly as to not disturb anyone else in the house. 

Daishou sat up, coming face to face with him as he wrapped his arms around his knees. Why was it that nightmare? Why now when he thought he’d finally gotten over it? 

His mother had sent him to live with his father before she told him she was dying. He hadn’t known he wouldn’t be returning to live with her at all, that she would be in the hospital until her dying breath six months later. The decline in her health had been sudden and she hadn’t wanted him to worry about her at school. 

She hadn’t wanted him to be sad. 

So much for that. He couldn’t forget his last happy memory of his mother, it haunted him. His brain had even decided to use it as fuel for his nightmares, often showing it before he had to suffer through the abuse of his father. 

“Daishou,” Kuroo had him fixed with a stare, looking into his eyes before moving over and lifting his blanket. “Come here.” 

He looked up, hesitant to climb into the bigger bed. They hadn’t shared a bed since they were ten-year-olds pretending that they were living in the woods with the blankets hung around the room as tents. 

“Hurry up, it’s cold,” came the mumble of frustration. 

Daishou stopped thinking on it, climbing up quickly as Kuroo brought the blanket down over the pair of them. 

“‘Shou, stop thinking so much I can hear your brain. Go to sleep,” Kuroo’s sleepy mumble came, accompanied by a yawn. 

He willed his brain to stop thinking on his nightmares so hard, sighing as he closed his eyes. He hoped he’d get enough sleep before school in the morning.

* * *

 

It became normal for the pair of them to share the bed at night after that. They woke up a mess of tangled limbs, and pretending that they hadn’t been cuddling, heading off to school in opposite directions. 

Daishou knew that they needed to stop. It wasn’t normal for two eighteen year old boys to share a bed, much less wake with arms wrapped around each other. 

He was distracted by the thoughts plaguing his mind since that first night though. Why was it so comfortable to share the bed with Kuroo? Why did he feel so much safer waking up with Kuroo’s arms wrapped around him and their legs entwined beneath the sheets? 

It was until Hiroo appeared in front of him, waving a hand that he realised his friend had been talking to him. A smirk had found its way onto Hiroo’s face. 

“What?” Daishou said, frowning at the look his friend was giving him. 

“I’ve been trying to get your attention for five minutes. Someone’s distracted,” he said, laughing as Daishou let out a huff. “What’s on your mind? Is it you-know-who?” 

Daishou rolled his eyes. Ever since he’d told Hiroo that he was living with Kuroo, he’d been using increasingly stupid names instead. It seemed that his normally stoic friend took great pleasure out of his suffering. 

“Shut up.” 

Hiroo grinned at him, and Daishou instantly regretted not denying the truth.

“So you are thinking about him. Does the great Daishou Suguru have a crush on his arch nemesis turned roommate?” 

Daishou swore that if he ever got his hands on a time machine he’d go back and slap himself until he understood that telling Hiroo anything would cause him great suffering. He didn’t have a crush on Kuroo. 

“Oh my god, could you stop that train of thought right there? No, I do not have a crush on him you insolent snake,” he said, quietly enough that his classmates wouldn’t hear their conversation.

While Hiroo had no problem admitting to Daishou that he was attracted to men, neither were really ready tolerant their classmates know. There had been instances where students had dropped out because of the rumours that got started. 

“I don’t believe you, but if you want to live in denial, far be it for me to stop you. That must be nice,” Hiroo said. 

Daishou raised an eyebrow at that. 

“You mean to tell me that you’ve got a crush on some poor soul? Who is it?” Daishou grinned, watching his friends cheek flush. 

“Shut up.” 

“It’s someone from the team isn’t it?” Daishou laughed, watching the red rising up Hiroo’s cheeks. “I’m going to take that as a yes, and just because it’d be hilarious, I’m going to guess Numai.” 

Hiroo’s silence spoke for him. 

“Oh my god, I’m right. Numai of all people,” Daishou said, laughing. 

“Shut up,” Hiroo groaned, slapping him upside the head. “You’re the worst.” 

“Yet for some reason, you always come back. You worried about me while I was gone and everything.” 

Hiroo rolled his eyes as the bell for class rang through the room. He looked like he was going to respond but didn’t as he made his way back to his desk. Daishou was left to his thoughts as the teacher started talking about chemistry.

* * *

 

The next morning was not one Daishou wanted to repeat any time soon. He’d been wrapped up in Kuroo’s arms, just as they’d been sleeping for nearly two weeks, when he got wrenched awake and throw out of bed to the floor. 

“How dare you?” He heard the roar, the voice of the one Kuroo he’d never gotten the approval of. “Are you trying to turn my son into some fag?” 

Daishou’s brain was struggling to start, his eyes wide and staring up at the elder Kuroo in the room. The Kuroo in the bed was sat up, guilt and concern etched into his features as he took in the situation. 

“Dad, it’s fine. I let him sleep in my bed,” Kuroo tried, obviously collecting his thoughts much quicker than Daishou himself. 

“No, Tetsurou, this is the last straw. I never liked you, not even when you were a child. Your mother was always hanging around my wife like she was a queen whom your mother wanted to serve until her dying days.” 

Daishou felt his heart stop at the topic of his mother. The insinuation that his mother hadn’t had strictly platonic feelings for Kuroo Mayumi wasn’t lost on him either. He held his breath as the elder Kuroo male took a step toward him, the situation feeling very similar to the one he’d been forced out of his father's house in. 

“Dad stop,” Kuroo’s voice sounded almost desperate as his father took another step toward Daishou.

He didn’t have a chance to think before he felt a hand slap him across the face. He was stuck inside his head, he felt like he was a child, still learning how to navigate the world. He didn’t even notice the hand drawing back to hit him again until the sound of skin hitting skin cane again, only it wasn’t his. 

“Tetsu-chan?” He said, voice small and reminding him of when he was running from bullies at eight-years-old.

Standing directly in front of him, protecting him from further harm was his childhood friend, doing exactly as he had done throughout their childhood. He was sheltering him from his bullies.

“Go. Find mum, she’ll help.” 

The urgency in Kuroo’s voice got him moving. He scrambled for the door, moving as quickly as he could as he knocked loudly on Kuroo’s parents bedroom door. 

“Mayumi-san! Please wake up!” Daishou called through the door, flinching as he hurt a crash from Kuroo’s bedroom accompanied by someone yelling. 

He was stressed is what he’d later reason, that his bursting into the main bedroom was completely normal for an eighteen year old. Shaking Mayumi into consciousness as her son tried to delay her husband. 

“Please,” he said. 

It was all he managed to get out before a strangled yell echoed throughout the house. Mayumi was out of her bed and rushing to the source of the sound before Daishou could think to follow her. When he did reach the bedroom though, Daishou’s heart sank. 

Mayumi was screaming at her husband while Kuroo nursed a bleeding nose, and what looked to be a developing black eye. He approached hesitantly, reaching out a hand to check the extent of the damage to Kuroo’s face. 

Kuroo let the tissue drop from his nose, allowing Daishou to look at him better. It didn’t look too bad. A hit to the top of the nose seemed to have been the worst of it, the blood nose resulting from the hit. 

He made to pull Kuroo out of the room, headed for the bathroom to clean his face from blood. 

He had a million things rushing through his head as he wet a cloth. Why had Kuroo stepped in front of him? Why did he immediately think of how Kuroo had always protected him? But mostly he’d just thought- 

“You’re such an idiot.” 

Not that. 

Kuroo snorted, wincing immediately from pain as his expression changed. Daishou only continued to dab the blood off of his face. 

They sat in silence, waiting for the bleeding to stop completely before they left. The yelling had stopped, and they heard the front door slam before a quiet knock sounded on the bathroom door. 

“Tetsurou? Suguru?” Mayumi said, opening the door, looking sadly at them both. “I’m so sorry boys. Are you both alright? What am I saying, Tetsurou you’re bleeding you're not alright.” 

The wet laugh Mayumi tried to talk through was heartbreaking. Daishou only watched as Kuroo got off the counter he had been sitting on and moved to hug his mother. It hurt to see Mayumi crying, it made his chest hurt. 

“Mum it’s okay,” he heard Kuroo saying. “It’s not serious.” 

“Tetsurou it is serious. Your father attacked Suguru and then you! How could I let this happen?” 

Daishou felt like he was intruding in the bathroom and made to leave. He caught Kuroo’s gaze as he did, nodding to him as he left to put his school uniform on. He had to leave earlier than Kuroo anyway.

* * *

 

“You mean to tell me, that you’ve finally accepted your giant crush on Kuroo Tetsurou?” Hiroo said over their lunch break. "Beacuse he protected you from his dad? Are you insane?"

Daishou groaned. Out of all the parts of his story to focus on. He supposed he should’ve been grateful that he hadn’t focused on the fact that both his own father and Kuroo’s father had attempted to seriously injure him, but really. Kuroo. 

“Don’t say it so loud you asshole. Yes.” 

Hiroo seemed to be taking a great amount of joy out of this. His eyes were sparkling if Daishou had ever seen them. 

“Are you going to tell him? We graduate soon, what if he finds someone in university?” Hiroo asked. 

“I don’t know, are you going to tell Numai?” He countered with a grin. 

Hiroo fell silent. 

Daishou allowed his thoughts to wander again. It had been the sight of Kuroo, even after all their years of petty arguments, standing up for him. The fact that he’d stand up against his own father if it meant Daishou would be safe from harm still. He could finally admit that after all this time, maybe that flutter in his chest had been the beginnings of his intense like of Kuroo Tetsurou. 

“I can’t believe you called him Tetsu-chan.”

Daishou’s groan sounded throughout the room, loud and clear. Of all the people to be friends with. 

“I hate you.”

* * *

 

It was late that evening when his realisation came to bite him in the ass. 

He was struggling through the most recent chemistry work his teacher had set, but he didn’t understand it. It hadn’t taken Kuroo long to pick up on his frustrations though, and now he was sat with Kuroo pressed against his side. 

“Do you see what I mean?” 

Daishou hadn’t been paying attention, he had been distracted by the strong body pressed against him. Kuroo was trying to help him though, he had to at least pretend he understood. 

“Yeah, definitely,” he replied. 

Kuroo looked amused though. 

“Really? Why don’t you explain it to me then?” 

Daishou opened his mouth, staring down at the book he had open in front of him. He really was a terrible liar when he wasn’t on the volleyball court. 

“Cat got your tongue?” Kuroo taunted. “I really expected better from you.” 

Daishou remained silent, his brain ticking. He heard Kuroo sigh at his lack of answer. 

“I’m sorry about this morning you know. I didn’t even think that he’d come in to wake me. It’s not often that he does, I guess it was just a long time coming,” Kuroo said. “Mum knows that I have dated another guy before, she made me promise not to tell dad though. I think she knew something like this would happen. Dad’s always had something against gay people. I’m so sorry you got brought into this. I was just so caught up I didn’t think.” 

Listening to Kuroo blame himself moved something in Daishou, and he heard Hiroo’s words echo through his mind.  _ Aren’t you going to tell him. _

He wasn’t even sure that Kuroo liked him, would it be awkward if he said something? The worst that could happen he supposed would be that he ended up back in the streets, though he thought maybe he could convince Hiroo to let him stay for a bit. 

The silence stretched as he thought, growing more awkward until Kuroo looked like he might move away. He’d waited too long. 

“Kuroo, I’m not, uh, I mean. God. I don’t blame you. It’s my fault for getting comfortable and not sleeping in my own bed. I just, the nightmares, it was comfortable and safe and,” Daishou trailed off. 

He wasn’t sure where he’d been going with his words, it had just started coming out. 

“No, I think dad had realised I was, well. I wasn’t treating you like the rest of my friends and I think he realised that.” 

Daishou allowed Kuroo’s words to settle in his mind. Could he take that as a possibility that Kuroo reciprocated his feelings? His heart beat could surely be heard outside of his chest, it was thumping so hard it was almost painful. 

“I can’t say that I would be disappointed if you were to treat me different to everyone else,” he settled on saying. 

Hopefully Kuroo would pick up on his meaning. If he didn’t, well, it would be an embarrassing story to tell Hiroo, that’s for sure. 

“You, what?” 

“I said what I said Kuroo. Either say something intelligent or I will leave.” 

Daishou fixed him with a stare, his eyes darting between Kuroo’s eyes, lips and hair as though that might help him in some way. Kuroo looked like he was confused until a sly grin fell into his face. 

“Stop trying to look cool. You’re the most uncool person I know,” Daishou said, rolling his eyes before catching Kuroo’s eyes again. 

“Oh? Would I be wrong to assume that you like uncool me though?” 

He felt his face heat up. Kuroo’s grin widened and Daishou watched as his eyes flicked down to his lips, giving him hope. 

“Hey ‘Shou, can I kiss you?” 

Daishou could feel his heart in his throat. There was no way that this was real, he’d definitely fallen asleep doing his homework. Maybe he could indulge a bit more. 

“Yeah.”

Kuroo’s lips were cold, a contrast to the rest of his body that felt like an open flame. It was a quick kiss though, a peck of lips that held all the emotions they were feeling. 

Daishou smiled as he pulled away. He sure hoped this wasn’t a dream. 

He pinched himself on the back of the hand to make sure, jumping slightly when the pain flared. Not a dream, but a very happy time. 

“What are you doing?” Kuroo laughed. 

“Makin’ sure ‘m not dreaming,” Daishou mumbled in return. 

Kuroo’s laugh rang out through the bedroom, and Daishou worried briefly that Kuroo was going to wake his siblings up. Mayumi had told them earlier that they needed to be quiet with their homework, the twins had been woken early by the screaming match that had occurred in the morning. 

“Come on, let’s finish this and head to bed. We can discuss this over breakfast in the morning.”

Daishou wasn’t one to argue.

* * *

 

“And then this morning he fucking asks if I want to be his boyfriend? Honestly Hiroo, I kiss him and then share the bed and he still wants to know if I actually want to be his boyfriend?” 

Hiroo rolled his eyes at him. He hadn’t been this happy in a long time, just the thought that someone in the world still thought he was worth some kind of affection put a smile on his face. 

“Yeah yeah, I get it. You got yourself a boyfriend. No need to rub it in, you ass,” Hiroo replied, an amused smile on his face. 

Daishou let a lazy grin slip onto his face.

“Guess you should go tell Numai. I’m sure he’ll be over the moon.” 

The squawk that Hiroo lets out makes it worth all that he’s embarrassed himself that morning. He knows he’s won, even with his stupid lovesick ways.

Maybe he did some stupid things, but Kuroo was worth those stupid things. Laughing with Hiroo about those things was just a perk. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hey hey hey! I hope you all enjoyed reading this! Please leave me a comment and some kudos!   
> Have a wonderful day/night!!


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